The Secular Veronese
22 September 2004 - 30 January 2004

An exhibition in the Musee du Luxembourg, Paris features works by Paolo Veronese (1528-1588) one of the most remarkable Venetian artists of the 16th century. Veronese was celebrated for his festive paintings which are imbued with a secular spirit, for panels and wall paintings that are noted for an organic bond with the architecture, scale of composition and elegance of their silvery colors. Oil paintings and drawings have been loaned to the exhibition by many of the world’s leading museums. The State Hermitage has provided the exhibition with Diana, a Veronese from its own collection drawn by the master at the end of the 1560’s.

Venice’s contribution to painting was a brilliance and magnificence of colors applied by artists whose works glorify the beauty of men and women, the attractions of this world and earthly pleasures. The artist expressed a secular view of art that was new for his age and contrasted with the things spiritual and ecclesiastical. Numerous documents and eye witness accounts of the period confirm that Veronese became the symbol of modern art of that time. His secular spirit can even be discerned in his paintings on Biblical subjects. The glow of colors, the design and the painterly quality of his oeuvres are representative of a transitional period which was moving from the great tradition of the Renaissance towards international Mannerism. Veronese was the great master of Classicism in painting, just as Palladio was its master in architecture.

Diana (sketch)
Late 1560s
Larger view